The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a 1,022-acre (4.1 km2) site in Santa Barbara, California, 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles. Founded as an independent teachers' college, UCSB joined the University of California system in 1944 and is the fourth-oldest general-education campus in the system.

UCSB is a comprehensive doctoral university and is organized into five colleges offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the 5th-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,429 undergraduate and 2,981 graduate students. The university granted 5,442 bachelor's, 576 master's, and 310 Ph.D. degrees in 2006-2007.[2] The four-year, full-time undergraduate program is classified by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as "more selective, higher transfer-in" and was ranked 42nd among "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report.[3][4]

Contents

History

The predecessor to UCSB, Santa Barbara State College, focused on teacher training, industrial arts, home economics, and foreign languages. Intense lobbying by an interest group in the City of Santa Barbara, led by Thomas Storke and Pearl Chase, persuaded the State Legislature, Governor Earl Warren, and the Regents of the University of California to move the State College over to the more research-oriented University of California system in 1944. The State College system sued to stop the takeover, but the Governor did not support the suit. A state initiative was passed, however, to stop subsequent conversions of State Colleges to University of California campuses.[6]

Originally, the Regents envisioned a small, several thousand-student liberal arts college, a so-called `Williams College of the West,' at Santa Barbara. Chronologically, UCSB is only the third general-education campus of the University of California, after Berkeley and UCLA (the only other state campus to have been acquired by the UC system.) The original campus the Regents acquired in Santa Barbara was located on only 100 acres (0.40 km2) of largely unusable land on a seaside mesa, however. The availability of a 400-acre (1.6 km2) ex-Marine Base on another seaside mesa in Goleta, which the Regents could acquire for free from the federal government, led to that site becoming the Santa Barbara campus in 1949. Originally, only 3000-3500 students were anticipated, but the post WWII baby boom led to the designation of general campus in 1958, along with a name change from "Santa Barbara College" to "University of California, Santa Barbara," and the discontinuation of the industrial arts program for which the State college was famous. A Chancellor, Samuel B. Gould, was appointed in 1959. All of this change was done in accordance with the California Master Plan for Higher Education. Notable alumni of UCSB include Jack Johnson, Mike Moyer, Keith Williamson, Jason Lezak, Michael Douglas, Aaron Parsons, and Steve Aoki.[7]

Campus

The Storke Tower and the University Center in front of the UCSB Lagoon.

A view over the school's lagoon to one of the Channel Islands

UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. UCSB's campus has not been annexed by the city of Santa Barbara and thus is not technically part of the city.[8][9] While it appears closer to the recently formed city of Goleta, a parcel of the City of Santa Barbara that forms a strip of "city" through the ocean to the Santa Barbara airport, runs through the west entrance to the university campus. Although UCSB has a Santa Barbara mailing address, as do other unincorporated areas around the city, only this entry parcel is in the Santa Barbara city limits. Like all other UC and CSU campuses, it is self-governing and cannot be incorporated into either city. The campus is divided into four parts: Main campus 708 acres (2.9 km2) that houses all academic units plus the majority of Undergraduate housing, Storke campus, West campus and North Campus. The campuses surround the community of Isla Vista.

UCSB is one of a few universities in the United States with its own beach. The campus, bordered on three sides by the Pacific Ocean, has miles of coastline as well as its own lagoon. The campus has numerous walking and bicycle paths across campus, around the lagoon and along the beach.

Campus Point located inside the campus of UCSB. Students take breaks here between classes.

Much of the campus' early architecture was designed by famed architect Charles Luckman, and made heavy use of patterned cinder block in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. This design element was carried over into many of the school's subsequent buildings.

The Lagoon is a large body of water adjacent to the coastline, between San Rafael and San Miguel Residence Halls. It was created from a former tidal salt marsh flat and is fed by a combination of run-off and ocean water used by the Marine Science Building's aquatic life tanks; thus, it is a unique combination of fresh and salt water. Many of the older campus buildings are being replaced with newer, more modern facilities. The UCSB Libraries, consisting of the Davidson Library and the Arts Library, hold 2.8 million bound volumes and millions of microforms, government documents, manuscripts, maps, satellite and aerial images, sound recordings, and other materials. The 24 Hour Study Room, formerly known as the RBR (Reserved Book Room), is adjacent to the Davidson Library, which is located in the middle of the UCSB campus.

Campbell Hall is the university's largest lecture hall with 860 seats. It is also the main venue for the UCSB Arts and Lectures series, which presents special performances, films, and lectures for the UCSB campus and Santa Barbara community.

The UCSB Family Vacation Center founded in 1969, is a summer family camp located on campus that draws over 2,000 guests each summer. The staff of over 50 includes many UCSB students who have been extensively trained as camp counselors.

Academics

Storke Tower

UC Santa Barbara is a large, comprehensive, primarily residential doctoral university.[3] The full-time, four-year undergraduate program comprises the majority of enrollments and has an arts & sciences focus with high graduate co-existence.[3] UCSB is organized into five colleges offering 87 undergraduate degrees and 55 graduate degrees. The campus is the 5th-largest in the UC system by enrollment with 18,429 undergraduate and 2,981 graduate students. The university granted 5,442 bachelor's, 576 master's, and 310 Ph.D. degrees in 2006-2007.[2] UC Santa Barbara has three undergraduate colleges: the College of Letters & Science, the College of Engineering, and the College of Creative Studies. The College of Creative Studies offers students an alternative approach to education by supporting advanced, independent work in the arts, mathematics, and sciences. The campus also has two professional schools, the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science, located in Bren Hall, and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education.

Rankings

Among U.S. universities, UCSB is listed as one of the "public Ivies".[16]Newsweek named UCSB one of "America’s 25 Hottest Colleges of 2005".[17] UCSB was also ranked #59 of the "Top 100 Global Universities" by Newsweek Magazine in 2006.[18] US News & World Report ranks the school 42nd among National Universities and 11th within public subset. Moreover, Forbes ranked UCSB as being the 14th best public university in the United States for "getting rich," as judged by its students' median salaries upon graduation.[19] According to US News UCSB has the 5th best graduate program in Materials Engineering,[20] the 10th best graduate physics program,[21] including the 4th best program for Condensed Matter physics,[22] and the 7th best program for Elementary Particles/Field/String Theory.[23]

UCSB is also a politically active campus. The UCSB Campus Democrats are one of the most active organizations on campus. Over the years, other political parties and organizations have also been known to be active on campus, such as the Environmental Affairs Board, Green Party, Libertarians, NORML, and the Queer Student Union.[citation needed] Several presidential and vice presidential candidates have visited the campus in recent years, including Hillary Clinton, John B. Anderson and Peter Camejo. The campus has also seen a resurgence of anti-war sentiment among students. In 2006, for example, a massive student anti-war protest shut down Highway 217, adjacent to the campus. As can be seen from the infobox, undergraduate admissions for minority students are slightly less than what the demographics of California would predict, particularly for Chumash and other Native American groups who are local to the university, but are not admitted in representative numbers.[25] Black students constitute only 2-3% of the student body, whereas almost 7% of California's population is black.[26] Even fewer minority students are represented at the graduate level (see infobox).

There are a variety of on campus centers offering social, recreational, religious, and preprofessional activities for students. The UCSB Multicultural Center puts on numerous activities every year to support students of color and promote awareness of diversity issues on campus. Other organizations and centers include the Daily Nexus, the campus newspaper, the La Cumbre Yearbook, the school radio station, KCSB 91.9, The Bottom Line , an alternative biweekly newspaper, and the Gaucho Free Press, the campus's conservative magazine. The UCSB Recreation Center also hosts a variety of activities, from Adventure Programs to ballroom dancing classes. Further UCSB Hillel offers a space for UCSB's large Jewish Population and a place for Jewish students to come together in a unique building in Isla Vista. Students socialize at the Arbor, the UCen, the Coral Tree Cafe the Courtyard Cafe and for a special lunch, the Faculty Club.

UCSB is the only UC campus with its own Paramedic Rescue Unit. It is staffed by full-time professional paramedics and part-time undergraduate EMTs.

SexInfo, which was started in 1976 by Professors John and Janice Baldwin, is run by students doing advanced course work and research on sexuality through UCSB's Sociology Department. The site is dedicated to providing accurate information about sexuality in a way that is both informative and personal. SexInfo answers questions sent in by readers from all over the world, as well as regularly updates and posts articles on various topics related to human sexuality. This program helps students getting their degree in psychology.[27]

Santa Catalina has, not only its own dining commons, Portola Dining Commons, but it has a heated swimming pool, two lounges, numerous study rooms, 2 Recreational Rooms, a gym, as well as tennis courts and an expansive lawn. Because Santa Catalina is nearly 1 mi. off-campus it has its own Campus police station as well as housing offices and Res-Net support center.

The Main Campus residence halls are found in two different locations. On the east end of campus are the residence halls named after five of the Channel Islands: Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Miguel and San Nicolas. There are two dining commons located near the Channel Islands residence halls. The Ortega Dining Commons is located between San Miguel and the University Center (UCen), and the De La Guerra Dining Commons (better known as DLG) is located between Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San Nicolas.

The two other residence halls, San Rafael and Manzanita Village, are located on the west side of campus and primarily house continuing and transfer students. The Carrillo Dining Commons is located in Manzanita Village, right next to San Rafael Hall. Manzanita Village was completed in 2002, and is the newest residence hall on campus.

Students may also choose to rent housing in the bordering community of Isla Vista. An estimated average for rent costs is $500–$800 US/month to share a bedroom, and includes trash pickup and water utilities. Low-cost housing is limited, with the cheapest source being the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative.

Other sources of housing include the Greek System, and outlying communities (i.e. Goleta, Santa Barbara, Isla Vista, Montecito). Many students live in Isla Vista, which is immediately adjacent to campus. Isla Vista since the early 1960s has a reputation of being a party environment. UCSB is also affiliated with the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative in Isla Vista, which seeks to provide low rent co-op housing regardless of gender, race, social, political, or religious affiliation, and thereby influencing the community to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in the community.

Athletics

The mascot of UCSB is the Gaucho and the school colors are blue and gold. UCSB's sports teams compete in the Big West Conference, with the exception of the men's and women's water polo teams and the men's volleyball team, which are in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Santa Barbara is best known for its women's basketball and men's soccer teams. In 2006, UCSB won their first NCAA Men's Soccer title and its second overall NCAA championship (1979 water polo) in school history.[29][30]

Athletics at UCSB is not limited to the Intercollegiate Athletic Department. While there are some 400 students in ICA, there are over 700 in Club Sports Teams including: Alpine Racing, Cycling, Fencing, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Roller Hockey, Rugby, Sailing, Soccer, Triathlon, Ultimate Frisbee, Water Ski and Rowing. Many of these teams are highly regarded and compete against Intercollegiate teams from across the US. For example Rowing has produced several national team members including Nine-time National Rowing Team member Amy Fuller, winner of several Olympic and World Championship medals and currently head of the UCLA Rowing Program. The UCSB Cycling Team has also produced several national team members, Olympians, and members of numerous US and international professional teams.

One non-sanctioned sport also draws many student to UCSB: surfing. The on-campus beaches include a number of decent surfing sites, including "Poles," "Campus Point," "Depressions" and "Sands" and "Devereaux Point" on the west campus. Because Campus Beach actually faces South and East, and is shielded by the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, the surf is usually quite small. However, a large North or West swell can wrap in to create great waves which are typically very clean and good for surfing. In the past there has been some informal competition between UCSB surfers and those from other schools, however, it is unknown if this tradition continues.

People

Student body

The Princeton Review rates the University of California, Santa Barbara with an Admission Selectivity of 95 out of 99 points.[citation needed] Admissions is classified as "Most Selective" by U.S. News & World Report, with an SAT score of 1871, and an SAT score of 1782 in the entering class of Fall 2007.[31] Fall 2008 admitted class had a mean GPA of 4.03. The entering class had a mean GPA of 3.84.[32] The application fee is $60. Applications can be completed on the Internet. 25% of admitted students receive federal Pell grants.[33]